Day 623

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Woke up at 7, helped Alice with a few chores, went to Home Depot and Barnes & Noble and bought

which I can't wait to devour.  We had a bit at the food court, then came home.  I watched a little football and we watched

in the afternoon.  Very good film, rounding out the 2014 Best Film nominees for me.  It's another busy work week of morning and afternoon work, though I'm starting Hollywood Hound and hope to bang this one out quickly.

To bed at 10.

Day 622

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Went to Costco with Alice in preparation for a family dinner at Karen's house in the evening.  A couple of friends of Alice's parents are visiting from China.  We spent the day taking care of chores.  I took some time plotting ideas for Hollywood Hound.  I relaxing, quiet day all in all.

Dinner at Karen's was wonderful!

Alice's Family at her Sister Karen's

Day 621

Friday, September 26, 2014

I played racquetball in the morning, worked from 9-6, went to Alice's and had yummy chicken wings at San Tung, then watched an interesting documentary on PBS:

I enjoy going back to 70s history and reliving it from an older perspective.  Nixon was wrong.  He was a total crook!  But Ford was right. The pardon was exactly what should have been done.  It was nice to hear everyone, including Bernstein and Cavett, say so.

Day 620

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Getting back into the writing routine.  Lots to do.  There's my new book Hollywood Hound, another look at Julia Milan, Dorian's project on race, and a couple short stories I've been kicking around.  Never a dull moment over here.  Another full work day today.  Looking forward to some writing time.

Day 619

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

I slept well the entire night and woke up at 4:30.  I went to the gym, but no one was there, so I practiced a few shots in preparation for my match this evening against Carlos.  He hits the ball hard and is very good, but with my new racquet I think I have the edge.

Worked at Varinsky and Wendel today.  I finished up entering all the info on Friday's Focus Group.  Wendel was slower than yesterday, so I was able to catch up on my journal.

Carlos and I played at 6:30 and I beat him 15-9, 15-10.  I really like my new Apocalypse racquet.  I like how it looks and feels.  It may be E-Force's best racquet yet.

I came home around 8 and had dinner, talked to Alice, then crashed early, before 9:30.

Day 618

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

I woke up at 5 and hit the gym at 5:15.  I practiced a few shots in preparation for my evening singles match with Carlos, but he wanted to postpone until tomorrow, which was fine with me.  We're playing tomorrow night at 6:15.

I went to Varinsky from 9-2 and Wendel from 2:30-6, so it was a long day of work.  Both places were very busy and will most likely stay that way through the end of the week.

I spoke with Chris from 8-9, then Alice from 9-9:15, then went to bed.  I crashed hard.

Day 617

Monday, September 22, 2014

I woke up at 5:30 in Brooklyn and packed, had breakfast, and caught my car service at 7:25.  It took about an hour to arrive at JFK.  My flight was at 10:25, so I had some time to relax and collect my thoughts.  No free internet at JFK, which is a drag.  The flight was on time and uneventful.  I read, wrote, watched episode 3 of Fargo, and slept for about 30 minutes.  We arrived at 2 and I had a sandwich before hopping on the shuttle to Park SFO.  Traffic coming home was crazy before the Bay Bridge.  I arrived home around 4 and had to get ready for my building meeting at my place about earthquake preparedness.  We all got together around 7 over Star Pizza and salad.  Everyone stayed until 9.  It was a good meeting.  I talked to Alice, then went to bed.

Day 616

Sunday, September 21, 2014

I woke up at 7:15, had breakfast, then rented a Citi Bike for the day.  I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and rode to the World Trade Center to see if I could get into the museum without purchasing a ticket beforehand.  I walked up to the ticket counter and got right in at 9.  I stayed a little under 3 hours.  The museum is designed to immerse viewers back to that horrible day.  Everything came back to me.  Because we were all New Yorkers that day, the experience was very personal and emotional.  I felt everything as I walked through the exhibit.  I'd forgotten about the posters and signs of missing loved ones.  I can never quite come to terms with the enormity of the devastation and the diabolical nature of the attacks.  There's a lot of wreckage, discovered personal items, ruined fire engines, pieces of the tower, documents, film footage, shoes, signs, historic film of the creation and history of the World Trade Center, and personal stories of all 2,997 people who died from the 9/11 attacks and 1993 bombings.

Around 11, I had french toast at the Blue Planet Grill, and that was really good.  I rode a bike back to Brooklyn and spent the afternoon with Nikki, Glenn Friedman's daughter who writes for the Wall Street Journal.  Brooklyn is very cool, a lot like Oakland, only bigger.

In the evening I had dinner with Chad at Grimaldi's and ate a large pepperoni pizza with mushrooms and onions while watching the Seahawks/Broncos game.

A great tourist day, for sure.

Day 615

Saturday, September 20, 2014

I was a sightseer today, walking around Brooklyn and Manhattan, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to 9/11 and back, taking the subway, eating a bagel and cheesecake, and unfortunately, sleeping a lot longer than I wanted to in the afternoon.  I was so tired from jet lag and back-to-back days with little sleep.  Also, the beds at the Marriott are great.  

Day 614

Friday, September 19, 2014

I was in court all day, waiting for the jury while they deliberated the case.  At 6, the jury went home, so my colleague Jennifer and I grabbed a bite to eat and had a wonderful conversation at Colonie in Brooklyn.  I went to bed around 10:30 completely wiped out.  

Day 613

Thursday, September 18, 2014

I flew into JFK at 6:50 a.m. and took a Dial 7 sedan to the Marriott in Brooklyn to hear closing arguments of Linde vs. Arab Bank, a big case with historic significance that may alter how banks interact with clients who may actually be terrorists.  The case holds Arab Bank responsible for aiding and facilitating Hamas terrorists in paying off martyrs and funding 24 terrorist acts in Israel that injured or killed around 300 US citizens.  It's the first time a case pins some responsibility on a bank for terrorist acts.  Both sides presented their arguments, but the plaintiffs were particularly powerful (there's only so much emotion a bank can generate).

After that was over, I had dinner with Sharon, my literary agent with the Belcastro Agency.  We had dinner at the Heights Cafe on a beautiful Brooklyn night.  We ate outside right along the sidewalk.  It was great!  I really like her and hope this next book does the trick.

I came home around 10 and went right to sleep.

Day 612

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Busy busy day.  Woke up at 5, played racquetball for 90 minutes, then came home and banged out the last two hours of revisions before sending the manuscript off to my agents (so nice to have that behind me!).  Worked at Varinsky for three hours, then came home and packed for NY tonight.  

Day 611

Tuesday, September 17, 2014

The day started out quietly, but grew into something I wasn't expecting.  I woke up at 5, practiced a few racquetball shots for an hour, then wrote/revised in the morning before coming to work at Varinsky for a few hours.  By 3:30, I was booked on a flight to Brooklyn, NY for five days, watching closing arguments in an important federal case that's wrapping up now.  I return home Monday morning.

With the work trip scheduled, I decided to bang out all the revisions I had in True Colors and get it to Sharon and Ella Marie by the morning.  I met with Chris at 7:30 and we talked for an hour.  I then made changes/revisions to the manuscript and stayed up until 1:45, no easy feat for this early birth these days.  I was so wiped out I just crashed face down on the pillow.

Can't wait to see this:

And will pay my respects here:

Day 610

Monday, September 15, 2014

Up at 4, home at 4:35, racquetball from 5-7, home until 10, Varinsky from 10:30-2:30, then a couple hours of Bill Maher's Two Hour Real Time/Stand up routine on HBO (fantastic as always), following by Singles League Night at Mariner Square.  Today I played with my new E-Force Apocalypse racquet and went undefeated tonight.  My new racquet smokes!  I love it!  The colors are great and the control is even better. I have two titles to defend, one at Club One and one at Mariner Square.  If I can drop 10 lbs and get back into my Insanity routine (and stay healthy), I'm going to be tough to take down, especially with this sweet new E-Force weapon in my hand.

Day 609

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Left Windsor and went to Walnut Creek for a few hours before hanging out with Austin and his roommate Dylan at Zachery's Pizza.

Day 608

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Spent the day in Windsor, CA and had a very enjoyable walk in the morning.

Alice's bicycle gang is lots of fun.  We ate so much food.  What a blast!

Day 607

Friday, September 12, 2014

Left for Windsor with Alice this afternoon.  We'll be meeting about seven other people for an enjoyable weekend of food, song and ukuleles!

Glad the revision is over.  So glad!

Day 606

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Wrote from 7-7.  Read through everything and have a few more details to include before sending the manuscript off to Chris and a few other readers.  I'll send it to Sharon next week.  This was a challenging revision, but I think it works.  We'll see what happens with it in the coming weeks.

I've already begun a new novel, tentatively titled Confessions of a Hollywood Hound, Volume 1:  Dogs in the Fog.  If every writer has a dog story, this one's mine.  This one will be quick, a month or two at most.  After True Colors, I feel the need to write really fast with little in the way of a structured plot.  

Day 605

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

I wrote from 7-6 and finished up the last five chapters.  It's all in and revised.  I'll read over the entire manuscript tomorrow.  My brain is toast.

In the evening I finally watched 12 Years a Slave.  I read the memoir on my iPad back in April.  There are a couple scenes in the film that weren't in the memoir, but the film is masterful and very powerful with strong performances.  I remember Chiwetel Ejiofor from Kinky Boots in 2005.  12 Years a Slave is so beautifully shot.  It's nice to see an important film like that win best picture.

Went to bed at 11:30.  

Day 604

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A solid writing day from 6-5, working on chapters 20-24, all very weak and in need of lots of work. Started slow but gathered momentum in the afternoon.  The day went too quickly, as they always do.  Read for 45 minutes just to keep motivated and mindful of what it's all about.  Onto the final five chapters tomorrow.

Day 603

Monday, September 8, 2014

Up at 4, racquetball from 5-6:30, writing from 8-12, Wendel from 2-6.  It was tough to stay focused today.  I was tired and in a fog all day.  I went to bed at 9, which was the right thing to do on days like today.  I revised chapter 20 and 21, but didn't finish either of them.  I'll be more productive tomorrow.

Day 602

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Up at 7, wrote for an hour, then went to Irving & 9th with Alice for an hour and Irving & 22nd for vegetables.  Wrote from 9:30-5 with a 90-minute break to watch Markie Rojas and Jose Diaz battle it out in the finals in the WRT Bay Port Finals in Stockton.  Jose should have won that match and had a match point at 10-2, but somehow lost 9 points in-a-row to Markie,  Unbelievable.

I only finished two chapters today and one of them will certainly need another pass or two.  Chapter 19 took four or five hours today and still isn't there.  There's a lot of work left on chapters 17-22.

Alice and I practiced our ukuleles  after dinner.  Fun.  I'm continuing writing until 10 tonight, then getting up early and heading home for another full week of writing.

Day 601

Saturday, September 6, 2014

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and wrote for two hours, then went to sleep again for 45 minutes and had the craziest dream.  I dreamed Alice and I were attending a wedding at a relative's house on the weekend about 50 minutes outside of San Francisco.  I was surrounded by lots of relatives I never knew I had.  When I went to change for the wedding, I realized I hadn't packed my suit, shoes or the invitation that had the address for the wedding.  When I told Alice, she was so mad.  She said we couldn't go to the wedding because it was disrespectful to show up without wearing a suit.  I considered going to Nordstrom to buy a new suit, but we didn't have time.  Alice had taken the day off for the wedding, so she chewed me out.  Then I woke up.  I immediately realized it must have been a dream Alice doesn't chew me out for anything, even though she probably should.  I told her about the dream and she just laughed.

I wrote the rest of the morning and afternoon until around 5 or so.  We watched two movies in the living room.

 
The film had its moments, but was surprisingly unsurprising and flat, but it was definitely Wu friendly.  Alice laughed a lot and some of the better scenes and so did I.

Then we watched a Michael friendly film:

This was great!  

Day 600

Friday, September 5, 2014

I seriously cannot believe I've been writing on my own for 600 days.  That's just crazy.  The one thing I hadn't anticipated about 1,000 days of writing was how quickly time passes by.  Before I know it, 1,000 days will be behind me.  I feel a mad rush to finish.  Everything.  The problem is the ideas keep coming and there's no end to the madness.  It's all about time.  That's always been what life has been about, because there's so little of it in one lifetime.  Truly, 100 years is nothing and 1,000 days is a small blip.  Never more so than now.

I worked a little more than I wanted to today.  Up at 4:30, racquetball until 6:15, then writing until 11.  Varinsky from 12-3 and Wendel from 3:30-6.  Left for Alice's at 6:15 and reached Sunset at 7.  Austin was with us and we had sushi.  To bed at 10.  

Day 599

Thursday, September 4, 2014

A long, solid day of writing, from 5:30 until 8 p.m.  Now this is how days are supposed to be.  Lots of chapters revised.  I'm up to chapter 12 or somewhere around there.  The rewrite's taking shape. 

Day 598

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

I nice solid writing day.  Racquetball in the morning and nothing but writing for the rest of the day, which breaks here and there and time for this:

The scary thing about dangerous men like Rummy is they really believe they're a force for good in the world and nothing will change their thinking on this issue, even blunders so large they'll define who they are forever.  Here's someone who manufactures words the way cold air and moisture manufacture snowflakes, yet his words don't define him so much as his inability to see the irony of what he says about himself and his experiences while at the table of American power and decision making.  Errol Morris ran up the right rabbit hole with this great film.  

Day 597

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A perfect writing day.  I wrote from 8-5:15, spending all day rewriting, revising, adding new scenes.  The time went so quickly.  This is what every writing day should look like.  At 6 I went to the club and played three hours of racquetball.  Jeff Auen was there with some new E-Force racquets.  The new racquets look and feel great.  I love the new colors.  It should be a good year for E-Force sales.

Tomorrow, I'm wrapping up the chapters I haven't edited yet, then going through the whole manuscript a couple of times before sending it out.  I can't wait to start my next book, a quick one called Confessions of a Hollywood Hound, Volume 1:  Dogs in the Fog, based on ideas I kicked around after spending a few days on the Dog with a Blog set.  

Day 596

Monday, September 1, 2014

Started writing at 7 a.m. this morning and I'm still going at 8 p.m.  This new version is 30 chapters long.  14 chapters are Lauren & Lani's, and 8 chapters each are Lauren's by herself and Lani by herself.  All the plot points are appropriately positioned.  This morning I worked on chapters 26-30.  I like the ending and actually think it works better than the first version.  Chapters 17-22 are a bit rough but after a few days they should be all right.  I like my new character Chester.  He turned out nice.

Day 595

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Up at 5:30, wrote until 8, then got ready and went with Alice and Austin to St. Mary's for the morning.  It's such a beautiful campus.  Every time I'm on a college campus, I'm reminded of my wonderful memories as a student both at WSU and MSU.  Alice and I had lunch in the main dining hall, which looks like a small version of Hogwarts dining hall.  I came back to my place at noon, wrote for another two hours, then prepared for my fantasy football draft, which started at 6 and ended at 8:30.  Went to bed early, around 9:30.